The Hassayampa River Preserve, owned by The Nature Conservancy, has a beautiful wildflower and native plant garden taking shape at their main entrance. There is a group of old Saguaro Cactus in the garden. Recently, one of the Saguaros has started to lean, moving perceptibly after each rain. With more rain in the forecast over the next few days, the decision was made to remove the cactus.
How do you take out a cactus that is 15ft tall and weighs several tons without destroying the new wildflower garden? Just like we remove any large tree! After all, stands of Saguaros in the wild are considered a “forest”. We brought in our lift and took down the cactus a piece at a time.
Each arm tip was treated gently, and will be left to callus over. They will be replanted in a month or so. If they survive, there will be three new Saguaro Cactus in place of the single giant. The interesting thing about the new cactus is that they should bloom just like the giants! Normally, Saguaros don’t bloom until they are very old – you never see blooms up close unless one blows over in a storm. These 2ft tall arms should bloom right where everyone can see them!
These pictures show the process we went through to take the giant down.
I was able to cut the arms into sections with the hand saw. Only the ribs offered resistance.
Lowering a section into the cart.
We lowered each piece into our log cart so it could be wheeled away!
Dropping the last section of trunk.
Piecing up the trunk so it can be hauled off. The sections are tremendously heavy!
Cross-section of trunk left as an example for tour groups!
No Jerome, cactus doesn't taste good!!!
Very interesting, Paul.
Hey, that’s quite the feat!
I hope it doesn’t come to this with the saguaro in my yard. That saguaro was one of the reasons I bought my house.
If I were you, I would prepare myself for it though…
Cactus tastes really good!
Last night the giant saguaro in our front yard collapsed across our driveway a few seconds after i pulled into our garage. What do we do now? Can any of it be saved? It is enormous and impossible for my husband and i to move. Is there a way to tell how old it was? How heavy? It was so incredible. So many birds lived within it Im thankful it didnt fall on me and sad, too – it was such a landmark in our yard. I would love to replant a part of it “for our tomorrows”. Hope you can help!
Pat, Sometimes an arm will develop roots if you plant it, but usually with fallen saguaros the arms are damaged inside and will eventually die. Sometimes the “stump” will sprout new growth on top if you leave it in place. This is usually when just the top part of the cactus falls off instead of when it it tips over at the ground (not sure which is the case with yours). As far as I know, there is no way to tell how old it is (no growth rings). It will be incredibly heavy, with a goodly dump fee… but it can be cut up and hauled away now – not many other options. If you need help with that, give me a call 928-231-3549 and I will try to get over there to look. Thanks! Paul
I have a large saquaro cactus that had fallen over ,we replanted just the bottom portion.now 2 arms have grown out from it,Can I remove the arms and plant them, ??will they grow?
They may grow. The success rate is usually not too high, but it is worth a try!
We are from Minnesota and just purchased a winter home here. We were looking for info on how to care for our Az trees and came upon your website. We have been exploring it for over an hour and had to let you know how interesting and informative it is. Love the pictures and stories. Great job.
I’m very glad that you found it helpful! And I hope your time in Arizona is enjoyable.